how to become a 3d animation expert

How to Becomea 3D Animation Expert

2 | How to Become a 3D Animation Expert

How to Become a 3D Animation Expert3D animation is a type of animation that uses computer generated images to create animated scenes. Compared to 2D/traditional animation, 3D has a lot more depth, and looks much more realistic. Generally speaking, a 3D animator uses computer software to transform imaginary concepts into a scene or an entire movie, filled with characters and landscapes rich in realistic details, such as light, depth, color and sound. The many software and processes involved in bringing 3D characters and scenes to life include modeling, texturing, animation, and rendering with lights and cameras. Visual effects and compositing are also often a big part of 3D animation.


How to Become a 3D Animation Expert

Becoming a professional 3D animator, however, isn’t something that’s achieved in just a few weeks. It’s a career path that takes a great deal of hard work and dedication. Good 3D animators are highly marketable, and the reason for that is because creating good animation is difficult to learn, and the learning curve can be quite steep. Making animation that’s believable and genuine requires a great deal of skill and practice, and although 3D is a complex skill, the payoff for learning it is well worth the effort. If you love animation and work hard at it, it can offer great rewards in the end.


Industry Use of 3D Today3D animation is most often used in the entertainment industry. The entertainment industry includes film, television, video games, and more. In fully animated films such as Toy Story and Shrek, all visual onscreen elements are created in 3D animation software. Visual effects films, such as Jurassic Park and Tron, are generally shot with real actors, but the backgrounds and other effects are computer generated.

The video game industry is another big industry for 3D animation. This industry gives artists the opportunity to create virtual characters and worlds that will eventually be played in a

video game engine. In this case, 3D animation creates the actual game world that players are a part of while playing the game, and the in-game experience is closely connected with the computer programming that makes playing the game possible. As part of this process, 3D animation assets will need to be created, and then the game programmers can create a system that enables the assets to be placed into the game being played.The types of animations that 3D animators create today for these industries can vary. Some 3D animators create long feature movies, while others may create shorter


Industry Use of 3D Today

animations like short skits, that can be used for advertisements or website animations. Other 3D animators specialize in creating animations solely for video games, and others create things such as special effects for live action motion pictures.Depending on an animator’s area of expertise, they may also specialize in creating different aspects of an animation. For example, one animator may create animated people, while others may work on helping to complete the background animation, such as buildings and landscapes.


Getting Startedin 3D AnimationWhether you’d like to one day make a career out of 3D animation, or just want to try out a new creative medium, there are many ways to begin making 3D. One thing that’s important to note is that if you are going to start 3D, you’ll need to walk before you can run. Oftentimes people open up their 3D software and they want to play right away with advanced tools such as advanced rendering, dynamics, and so on. It’s better to start off with basic modeling principles and basic animation, and then continue from there.

One option for those just starting out is to go to art school and learn 3D animation in the classroom. Those looking to break into a career in 3D animation usually need to complete at least four years of post-secondary education. Some animators may further their education even more and earn a master’s degree in 3D animation.

3D animation is also a technically-oriented career that requires specialized knowledge. To earn a degree in this field, students will


Getting Started in 3D Animation

usually need to take a combination of art and computer courses, as well as courses in anatomy and natural sciences. Education in programming languages like HTML, Java, and C++ are additional skills that a 3D animator should have.Formal schooling in 3D animation offers the opportunity to learn quickly, and the advantage of being exposed to a larger variety of software and techniques. Schooling also enables the development of well-rounded knowledge and skills including strong art and animation abilities, and a solid understanding of the latest computer animation technologies.

Learning 3D animation in the classroom can also help you develop a mix of the most relevant analog and digital art skills, and give you an understanding of the creative and technical processes involved. You can become familiar with the theories of art and put them into practice as you draw, visualize, and effectively apply various color and design principles. And you can translate your traditional art skills into models of objects, scenes, characters, and virtual worlds. Alternatively, you can elect to approach learning 3D animation as if it were a job. You can spend money that you would have


Getting Started in 3D Animation

otherwise used on school to buy the necessary software, get yourself out there in both the real and virtual community, and talk with people who are active in the industry. This could include finding user groups for the particular software you are using, and going to local meetings and discussion groups.You should also spend a year or so on one complete project, where you work on everything from lighting and modeling to textures and animation. Once you finish that, you will know what you enjoy the most and have the best talent for. It could be character design, or lighting and texturing. But whatever you do, you should spend that year working on just that skill.At the end of that time you may find that you’ll end up with much more knowledge and experience than art school students, and you’ll be networked into a real working community, which will make finding a job in the industry much easier.


Best Practices3D animation can take years to master, but there are certain tips and tricks you can use to advance as an animation expert, including mastering the basics, getting feedback, and finding what inspires you the most.

Trying to take on an animation beyond your skill level could be a mistake if you don’t have the basics down pat, and you could run into problems and be setting yourself up for failure. Learn things in small chunks; for example, learning a simple ball bounce animation is a great start for any beginning animator. Once you’ve done that, you can move to a ball that’s moving across a screen, instead of bouncing in place. You can then add a tail to the ball and experiment with overlapping actions, and so on. With each new level that you complete, your skills will grow, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a master animator.Getting feedback as an animator is also critical. If you’re the only one who looks at your animation, you can miss


Best Practices

mistakes that others will catch. Ask your friends and fellow animators to take a look at your animation, and see if everything looks right. Sharing your work with others in this way is a great way to improve your success as an animator.

And finally, finding what truly gives you inspiration as an animator is highly important, and one of the best ways to improve your skill-set. You can research and find shots that an animator worked on, see which one of those shots appeal to you, and ask yourself what makes them so good and why a certain shot might be better than the one before it. You can then implement these techniques and help improve your own animation.


3D AnimationSoftware Programs

The best way to make great 3D animation is to obtain a software program specifically made for creating 3D animations. With an intuitive 3D animation software package at your fingertips, you can build characters, objects and landscapes, and bring them to life with textures, colors, and movement. There are many different software options out there, including: Maya, LightWave, 3D Canvas, Blender, and 3D studio max. Since there are many software choices available, and some are difficult to master and others easier to learn, it’s important to find out which is the best one for your needs and circumstances.


3D Animation Software Programs

The software used is not important – at least at the beginning – as almost all animation software packages have the same basic features. With any of these packages, a beginning 3D animator will want to focus on basic animation objects first, such as how to make a ball bounce, or how to make the ball move from one place to another. Later, when you get into character animation and other such concepts, you’ll have to understand the techniques of what makes those things generate successful animation. When using complex software programs like Maya or LightWave, you’ll need to focus your efforts on really learning the software well, so that you can spend more time animating when you need to.

Blender – for its part - is a free, open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems. Blender is now the largest open source tool for 3D creation, and its makers are


3D Animation Software Programs

continually working on its development. The great thing about Blender is that you can do almost anything related to 3D, including animation, modeling, rendering and compositing. Blender is the perfect introduction for 3D software. It not only has many of the features that the top of the line products have, but has a huge online community that has hundreds of free courses and tutorials available publicly.Maya is an industry favorite as well, used by many of the world’s leading animation studios. But the software can be quite costly. The good news is that they do offer a free 30-day trial for their 3D content creation suites – giving aspiring 3D animators a great way to test out this high-end product. Maya’s motion tracking tools are an especially strong feature that aspiring animators can use to test their skills.


Goals and Challenges for 3D Animators3D animators today must possess a unique set of professional design and teamwork skills to overcome the challenges of tight release deadlines, competitive personalities, and other factors in their otherwise creative jobs. A successful animator must have the people skills, professionalism, and maturity to see a project through, from start to finish.

Animation work is often also done out of sequence, requiring careful coordination among members of production and design staffs. This coordination could include working with writers, promotions and marketing staff, music score composers, and other artists that all have to work together toward a common goal. You’ll also likely have to stay up to date on the latest 3D software releases,


Goals and Challenges for 3D Animators

as well as attend certification classes and animation courses. You may also have regular meetings with sub-contractors and technical staff, as needed.Flexibility and a diverse skill-set are also important. You may have a difficult time finding employment by only knowing how to model a character in 3D. Most jobs in this industry require that candidates have the ability to do multiple things. For example, a company might look to hire a ‘3D Modeler and Shading Artist’ position, rather than only a ‘3D Animator’.

And finally, don’t assume that you’ll be able to finish working on an animation project the night before it’s due. 3D animation is not as fast of a project as most people assume it to be. It’s a hands-on field, and requires constant practicing of the skills you’ve learned, and spending the time needed to ultimately provide top quality 3D animation. You may need to dedicate extra time out of your day towards project and assignments, but this will benefit you tremendously as you continue to grow and learn in this fascinating and up-and-coming industry.

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how to become a 3d animation expert

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